Serving in the Mexico Mérida Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Feliz Navidad from Merida!

Merry Christmas from Hermana Lia and Hermana Torales!

Lia's apartment (until Friday)

Hola Familia,

I can’t tell you how excited I am to talk to you. Can you
send me your Skype name (or multiple) so I can look for you on the member’s
computer? If nothing else, we can Skype chat with instructions on how to call
because I have no idea. 5:00 my time is
better because we leave the house at 4:00.

Oh, family! I love you so much. I think about you multiple
times a day, but only in a way of love, not distraction. This week we had a
fast because we had 4 planned baptisms for Saturday and none were looking likely
(more on that later), plus a bunch of other needs (our prayer roll). I also
fasted for each one of you individually and I was the one to say the prayer for
the two of us to start the fast and as I started praying for you all I just
started bawling uncontrollably. It wasn't sad, I just love you more than I ever
realized (missions and the atonement do that to you) and I want so badly for you
all to feel the things I’m feeling and learn the things I’m learning. I want us
to be a family centered 100% on Christ because that’s how we’ll be the loving,
united family we want to be. I can’t wait to talk to you.

Hermana Torales has always wanted a scripture case,
so she and Lia traded a purse for the case. Two happy chicas!

There are so many beautiful families here. I was walking
down the calle yesterday and this man walks up to his house and this little kid
screams 'Papa!' and runs out and hugs him and it's beautiful. And we picked up
this family that we met next to a panaderia selling cookies, and they are so FUN.
We still haven’t taught them because delays keep coming up, but every time we
come back to teach them we meet a new family member who is also fantastically
and uniquely awesome. They are all siblings with kids of their own. And
they tell us “we are a united family. It’s like every time we get together it’s
a party, we don’t even need holidays.” And they actually invited the
missionaries to dinner. They don’t even know us! That never happens! I love
families. Families are how to be happier than anything else, ya’ll.

I love finding families that I think “Wow, this feels just
like a Mormon home in the United States
except they speak Spanish and drink horchata. Other than that, it feels exactly
the same.” I don’t know why it surprises me that other people are normal. Can you guys send me The Living Christ?

OH!!!! I GOT YOUR
LETTERS! I got two from Ava from the end of November, then two from mom last
week also from the week after Thanksgiving, then one about Agee's temple trip
(I was walking around the grocery store while I was reading it and smiling
super huge. I must have looked like a dork). I also got a Christmas card from
the Mechams (thank you for thinking of me!) that delivered in less than a
month! Wow! And one from Kayla (thank you!).

The night I got the first round of letters from Ava and Mom,
my happiness was so effervescent, I wanted to just run out in the street and
throw confetti in the air. Hna Torales must think I’m so weird because I was
just laughing the whole time I was reading them I was so happy. Thank you... :)
No letter from Harlan. No packages (they're coming...!)

Mom asked me questions in her letter about Merida
and mission life that I will answer next time!

Called to Serve

Lia Loves Letters

Please select "Pouch Free" from the column on the left! They will print and deliver your message to Lia in México!

The kind of faith I want to have...

"The spirit of this work is urgency... We must move more rapidly. We must take things up a notch. If we have to call down miracles of angels, then call them down. The drama is unfolding and we must do whatever it takes to ratchet up the work... Every dispensation begins with a vision. We must have a vision. We are the church that dreams dreams. We are the church that has visions. We must believe in miracles. We must believe and build on what our forefathers have done…We must live up to our potential. God will bless us with whatever we need. God wants us to just see what He sees and know what He knows. He wants us to ratchet up the vision. God is easy to please and hard to satisfy...This is not convenient, easy work. We have got to take things to the edge. We have to move into the realm of the miraculous. We have to live in such a way that we cannot do it alone anymore- where we will resort to the Lord--where we will cry, “Without thy help, I will fall. Help me fly.” Go to the edge where miracles happen. Move into the realm of the miraculous." --Elder Jeffrey R. Holland